Cabinet Quotation Information and Considerations

• Type, design, or requirements needed to ensure there is adequate storage room for the product or item placed into the cabinet.
• The internal cupboard, shelf, or drawer size when door or drawer is closed must be considered to ensure it is adequate in size.
• The level of adequate shielding or protection must be known.
• The room where the cabinet will be placed and how will it look and fit with other equipment or furniture.
• Will our standard grey colour match or clash with other equipment or casework?
• What will be placed onto the top of the cabinet or inside the cabinet?

Consider the outside and inside dimensions. It’s important to note these as one dimension will dictate the other based on what lead shielding is needed.

Note: Quite often there are critical dimensions like trying to fit a cabinet between other existing cabinets, under existing countertops, matching current countertop heights, or ensuring the product or item fits inside of the cabinet box, drawer, shelf, or cupboard.

We can shield the cabinets with 1/32’’ to 2” or more of lead. In shielding less than 5/8” thick we layer sheet lead inside the cabinet and weld all seams. For lead over 5/8” thick, we pour lead into the walls. When we pour lead, the molten metal generates a lot of heat that can cause the walls to budge or distort. To prevent this, we must manufacture the cabinet from thicker steel plates and add temporary reinforcement prior to pouring. Unfortunately, thicker plates add to the inside or overall size of the cabinet. Composite solutions where Boron Filled Polyethylene is added to the interior of the cabinet are also available for gamma/neutron shielding applications.

It is important to know the weight of the item(s) to be placed into the drawers, shelves, or the cabinet. Our standard capacity is 100 lbs. The weight placed on the top surface of the cabinet is also something to consider. Adding L-Blocks or other heavy items must be taken into consideration when designing and building our cabinets. The overall cabinet weight should also be noted. Most of our cabinets weigh 1,000 to 2,500 lbs that place a large floor point loading. Please ensure the available space can take this floor loading and that the floor surface is suitable. Soft-tiled or linoleum floors are not recommended.

All our cabinets are built on 4” high adjustable-height legs rather than sitting flat on the floor like what our typical competitors build. This allows the end user to move from a loading dock to the final position via forklift or pallet truck. A flat bottom doesn’t allow for this. It also allows the end user to adjust the height for uneven floors or for when a heavy cabinet sinks into a soft-tiled floor. These adjustable legs can be clad in a steel panel and hidden with a removable or fixed cover.

Cabinet top designs can be either a flat carbon steel top or a flat stainless-steel top. We offer the option to include 304 stainless steel tops with a front drip edge backsplash. Optional covered drop port holes for sharp containers and built-in display stands are also available. To include this option, the size of these holes and their location is required.

Cabinet door designs can be either single doors or double doors. All doors have a step built into the design to prevent radiation leakage. Double doors would include an overlap seam of lead or an astragal which is a common term in the door industry. These doors can weigh a fair amount depending on the amount of lead they require and can sometimes weigh more than 1500 lbs. Double doors should always be considered in lieu of single large doors. Opening and closing large-sized doors or thick leaded doors can take a certain amount of forced effort to open and close. It is recommended to always keep doors to a minimal size and when larger sizes are needed to consider double doors. Retail store-bought hinges are not made to take this type of weight so we must manufacture our own. The locks for the doors are welded to the outside and are not drilled and inserted into the door for a flush mount. This again is due to the radiation loss through this point. These door latches are usually placed on the outer edge or side of the cabinet or sometimes at the top of the cabinet door. Please take this into consideration to avoid any problems and advise of any issues this may cause. Drawer latches face the same issues.

Important Note: Large doors in size or lead thickness can have a significant weight that requires some strong effort to open and close them. It is recommended that large doors be split into double doors whenever possible to reduce this opening and closing effort required.

We can offer shelves, drawers, or other modifications/options. If you require shelves, we need to know the load or weight for each shelf and whether the shelf must be fixed or adjustable in height, and if it needs to slide out. We will need to know the adjustments in height or increments if this option is required. For drawers, we need to know whether they require dividers, how much weight will be placed onto each drawer, and the internal size. We can put a lock on each drawer on the outside or have a door close over all the drawers with one lock. Sometimes it is preferred to have no door and all drawers. For this method, we would make each drawer with a lead-faced front but not lead-lined in between the drawers. There is no lead placed between any drawers, cupboards, shelves, or any other space – only the outer walls, sides, top, bottom, drawer, or door faces.

Our standard finish is a grey spray on epoxy enamel. It can be touched up on-site if scratched. We can offer a baked powder coat; however, it does leave the opportunity for chipping if banged and cannot be re-touched if chipped. Our painting is an industrial paint finish and not a fine hospital finish that you might find on a filing cabinet or office furniture. They may be slight imperfections that show through the paint.